Basic unemployment allowance is paid to the amount of
EUR 37.21 per day
Basic unemployment allowance
On this page:
The basic unemployment allowance is one of the two unemployment benefits provided by Kela. If you are a member of an unemployment fund, you can receive earnings-related unemployment allowance.
Eligibility for basic unemployment allowance
If you become unemployed, you can receive basic unemployment allowance if
- you are between 18 and 64 years of age
- you are living in Finland
- you have registered with TE Services as unemployed and looking for work
- you can accept offers of full-time work
- you meet the work requirement for wage-earners or self-employed persons.
How much is the basic unemployment allowance?
You must pay tax on the basic unemployment allowance.
If you for instance receive a wage or salary from part-time work, the wage or salary reduces the amount of the basic unemployment allowance. In this case, you receive adjusted basic unemployment allowance.
The basic unemployment allowance is paid for 5 working days a week (including mid-week holidays).
Increases to the basic unemployment allowance
If you participate in employment promoting services, you can receive an increase to the basic unemployment allowance for the duration of the participation in the service. The increase amounts to EUR 5.29 per day, or on average EUR 111 per month. The increase can be paid for a maximum of 200 working days.
Government proposes end to increased rate for unemployment benefits
The Government proposes that unemployment benefits will no longer be paid at an increased rate for the duration of employment-promoting services.
Benefits that reduce the basic unemployment allowance
If you receive other benefits, their amounts are usually directly deducted from the basic unemployment allowance you receive. If you receive a benefit that is paid out monthly, the daily amount of the benefit is calculated by dividing the benefit amount for the whole month by 21.5.
You will get less in basic unemployment allowance if you also get child home care allowance. The amount of your child home care allowance will be deducted from the basic unemployment allowance.
Your partner’s or spouse’s child home care allowance will also be deducted from your basic unemployment allowance if your spouse or partner
- regularly works part-time
- is studying
- has income from own business.
The child home care allowance of your spouse or partner can be deducted from your basic unemployment allowance since the child home care allowance is granted to the whole family. Even if the benefit is paid to your spouse or partner, the benefit is also considered as yours.
However, the child home care allowance payable to your spouse or partner is not deducted from your basic unemployment allowance if
- your spouse or partner is also unemployed and the child home care allowance is paid to your spouse or partner
- your spouse or partner cares for the child full time and is because of child care not entitled to unemployment benefit
- your spouse or partner receives daily allowances for parents in addition to the child home care allowance.
Example
Milla is unemployed and receives basic unemployment allowance. Her spouse Matias cares for their child at home and receives child home care allowance. Matias has occasional incidental work. For this reason, the child home care allowance he receives is deducted from Milla’s basic unemployment allowance. If Matias did not work, his child home care allowance would not be deducted from Milla’s basic unemployment allowance.
The following benefits do not affect the amount of the unemployment benefit:
- child benefit
- child support payments or child maintenance allowance
- general housing allowance or pensioners' housing allowance
- social assistance
- care allowance for pensioners or disability allowance
- disability indemnity under the Employment Accidents Insurance Act or conscript’s allowance
- life annuity or supplemental annuity under the Military Injuries Act
Estimate the amount of the basic unemployment allowance using a calculator
For how long can you receive basic unemployment allowance?
There is a waiting period of 7 working days for the basic unemployment allowance, and the waiting period starts from the day on which you register as unemployed. For this period, you will not receive the benefit. The basic unemployment allowance is payable for a maximum period of 400 working days. If you have an employment history of less than 3 years, the longest you can get unemployment allowance is 300 working days.
If you meet the work requirement after you have reached the age of 58, you can receive unemployment allowance for a maximum of 500 working days. Read more about the entitlement criteria for unemployment benefit for ageing unemployed.
You can track your progress towards the maximum payment period in the OmaKela e-service.
The 7-day waiting period for the basic unemployment allowance is applied at the beginning of each maximum payment period of 400 working days. The waiting period is only applied at the most once a year, however.
After the basic unemployment allowance you can receive labour market subsidy, if you meet the entitlement criteria. When the maximum payment period for the basic unemployment allowance is about to be completed, we will automatically request the information needed for the award of labour market subsidy from you.
If you are unemployed, close to retirement age and you meet the work requirement, you can receive basic unemployment allowance for additional days and enter the so-called unemployment pathway to retirement. The additional days are only available to recipients of basic unemployment allowance for employees but not for entrepreneurs or self-employed persons.
You are entitled to additional days of basic unemployment allowance if you before reaching the maximum of 500 days of unemployment allowance have reached the age of
- 61 years and were born in 1957-1960
- 62 years and were born in 1961-1962
- 63 years and were born in 1963
- 64 years and were born in 1964.
Granting of the additional days also requires that you have completed at least 5 years of employment during the previous 20 years. The extended payment of basic unemployment allowance will continue until the end of the calendar month in which you reach the age of 65. After this you can receive a pension.
Persons born in 1965 or later can no longer be granted additional days of basic unemployment allowance.
How to apply for basic unemployment allowance
You can apply for basic unemployment allowance either on a form or in the OmaKela e-service. OmaKela is currently only available in Finnish and Swedish. Kela’s forms are also available in English.
Apply in OmaKela
- Register with TE Services (tyomarkkinatori.fi) as an unemployed jobseeker. Basic unemployment allowance cannot be paid out unless you are registered as an unemployed jobseeker.
- Apply for basic unemployment allowance in the OmaKela e-service (available in Finnish and Swedish).
- Take photographs of the supporting documents and send them in OmaKela. From the application you can check which documents you should enclose with the application.
- Visit the OmaKela e-service to see if your application has been decided, how much you will get and when your benefits will be paid. You can also see possible reminders concerning, for instance, any documents missing from your application. You will also get a decision by post if you have not given up paper mail.
Log in to the OmaKela e-service to apply for basic unemployment allowance
Apply on a form
- Register with TE Services (tyomarkkinatori.fi) as an unemployed jobseeker. Basic unemployment allowance cannot be paid out unless you are registered as an unemployed jobseeker.
- Fill in and print out the form Application - Unemployment benefits TT1e (pdf).
- Enclose additional documents in support of the application as necessary. The application form includes information on which supporting documents you need.
- Send the application and any supporting documents by mail. The address is Kela, PL 10, 00056 KELA.
- Visit OmaKela to see if your application has been decided, how much you will get and when your benefit will be paid. You will also see reminders of, for instance, supporting documents missing from your application. The decision notice will also be sent to your home address unless you have opted out of paper mail.
The decision notice is only in Finnish or Swedish. If you need help with something, you can call one of our English language customer service numbers.
Things to remember when you apply for basic unemployment allowance
State the dates in the application starting from the first day of unemployment. However, do not file the first application until after 7 days of unemployment so that the waiting period has been completed.
The first payment period for the basic unemployment allowance is 2 weeks. After that, the unemployment benefit is paid every 4 weeks on the basis of the unemployment status report.
You can only report days of unemployment in the application afterwards. Applications for basic unemployment allowance can be made retroactively for up to 3 months.
We receive the labour policy statement that is needed for the processing of the application from TE Services. Thus, you do not have to send it yourself.
Kela obtains information on wages and salaries from the national incomes register. We use this data when processing claims and applications. We may ask for additional information, if necessary.
Documents that you have sent to TE Services are not available to Kela.
Report changes that affect the basic unemployment allowance
If you receive basic unemployment allowance, you have to inform Kela if
- you work during the period of unemployment
- a child is born to your family or there are other changes in your family circumstances
In this way, the benefit is paid to the correct amount and you also do not lose any benefit due to you.
If you do not report changes, you may be paid benefits you are not entitled to. In that case, the benefit will be recovered from you later. Read more about the recovery of overpaid benefits.